Background

Backgrounds should roughly come in three parts of 6 or more lines each. Below is a set of loose guidelines for what staff looks at for a 'complete' background.

The first part is the 'at a glance'.

• What is the character's immediate history?
• What is a thumbnail of their background and history?
• What major events did they participate in or what groups are they a part of?

Someone unfamiliar with the character should have a passing acquaintance of their immediate past after reading the background.

The second section should focus on early life.

• Where was the character born?
• What major events impacted their early life?
• Did they come from a good household, were they raised by penguins under Gotham Zoo, or were they decanted from a cloning tank last year?
• How did they live during their early years?

The third section should be origins.

• What motivated them to become a hero or a villain? This is the 'call to adventure' that starts the Hero's Journey:
  • It might be the death of a loved one;
  • Witness to a violent crime
  • Adoption by a more senior hero

This should bring the reader up to date on the character, though additional sections are permissible if the background gets very expository.